Today,
7 years ago on 19th April 2000, Microsoft announced the immediate availability
of the Pocket PC platform (and therefore first Windows Mobile-based PDA how it
was renamed later) in New York's Grand Central Station. Back in 2000, Microsoft
President and CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled new Pocket PC designs from hardware
partners incl. Casio Computer Company Ltd., Compaq Computer Corp.,
Hewlett-Packard Co. and Symbol Technologies Inc. while putting the devices to
the test through demonstrations showcasing their wireless, enterprise and
cutting-edge gaming and video capabilities. More than 60 companies showcased
their Pocket PC solutions in the launch Partner Pavilion and executives from TD
Waterhouse Investor Services Inc. and SAP AG joined Ballmer on stage to announce
how they are using the new Pocket PCs in customer scenarios (read
Steve Ballmer's speech transcript here).

"It's an amazing time in mobile computing, and we're just getting
started," Ballmer said. "Technology is innovating at a rapid pace, and the
Pocket PC is a great example of how, today, we are bringing the
productivity, performance and power of a PC in a pocket-sized device to
enable true any-time, anywhere access to information."

Now, 7 years later we have a wide range of Windows Mobile-based devices which
includes PDAs, Phone Edition PDAs and Smartphones.